I guess we'll have to agree to differ on this one.
I've always gone for music above image, always will every time. Maybe its because I'm a Sheffielder and we don't like bullshit.
The comparison with the Libertines crops up everywhere, but is lazy. The Libertines never had the songs to back up the hype - hence their relatively shite record sales.
I don't think there can be any doubt whatsoever that the Arctic Monkeys have well and truly captured the zeitgeist of THEIR generation - mainly because they write songs that everyman can identify with, and fuck the image, or lack of it.
I guess time will tell - but my money is firmly on the Monkeys leaving a legacy which will still be around long after the Libertines & that sad wanker Doherty are nothing more than a postscript in the annals of rock.
If you are not impressed by anyone dressing just like their mates, what are you doing on this site? Hawley tends to dress very much like his mates and, although I've never known him knowingly play the ordinary bloke card, part of his appeal is that he is an ordinary bloke who, when he is at home, does ordinary things, just like his mates, my mates & your mates. That's because his music says everything that needs to be said without any need for a contrived image. Just like the Arctic Monkeys, Pulp and dozens & dozens of others who let the music speak and are good enough not to need to rely on owt else.
As I said before, if you don't like the music then fine, but attacking them for being ordinary blokes...............
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